At some time around 200 A.D., the Stoic philosopher and teacher Cleomedes delivered a set of lectures on elementary astronomy as part of a complete introduction to Stoicism for his students. The result was The Heavens (Caelestia), the only work by a professional Stoic teacher to survive intact from the first two centuries A. more...

Presents the basics of astronomy required to understand sundials and describes how to design and build a classical sundial. This book shows the calculations involved in the sundial's construction and gives a comprehensive history of time measurement. more...

Overturning many common perceptions of the past - for example, that clock time and the industrial revolution were intimately related - this unique historical study will engage all readers interested in how 'telling the time' has come to dominate our way of life. - ;Timekeeping is an essential activity in the modern world, and we take it for... more...

In the late fifteenth century, clocks acquired minute hands. A century later, second hands appeared. But it wasn?t until the 1850s that instruments could recognize a tenth of a second, and, once they did, the impact on modern science and society was profound. Revealing the history behind this infinitesimal interval, A Tenth of a Second sheds... more...

Physical processes, involving atomic phenomena, allow more and more precise time and frequency measurements. This progress is not possible without convenient processing of the respective raw data. The book describes the data processing at various levels: design of the time and frequency references, characterization of the time and frequency references,... more...

Homer is renowned as the finest of the storytellers who for countless generations passed down by word of mouth the myths and legends of Ancient Greece. Yet, for some 2500 years there have been persistent folk memories that his genius extended far beyond literature and that scientific knowledge was hidden in his stories of heroes and villains, gods... more...

"Next time you see a sunset, stop and sit down for a while." This books tempting opening line invites children and adults to take in a daily phenomenon with fresh eyes. By reading Next Time You See a Sunset together, you can learn to appreciate the spinning of the Earth, the progress of day into night, and the reasons for the spectacular... more...

Bringing together the surviving material and manuscript evidence, this book looks closely at a fascinating medieval sundial in the form of a ship. It considers who made and used the surviving instruments, as well as studying the scholars who wrote about it. more...